SUMMARY: A trippy wander through a large amount of surreal environments. Some are amazing, some frustrating, but the goal is to simply travel about, observe, and hop environments. A good choice if you want a brain-cleaner or relaxer, or like surreal walking simulators.

It's hard to sum up ONOW. The best way I can put it is "you wander around various weird places to strange music, and occasionally leave or find doors." It's basically a walking simulator with a large amount of places to walk.

However that doesn't quite do it justice. Some of the environments are stunning and bizarre, the transitions are trippy, and the music at times adds to the entire afair. It's like you're walking through a series of album covers.

Sadly, not all of these are INTERESTING, and a few are frustrating. Some feel crafted, some feel like they were randomized, saved, and it was called a day. You'll want to leap worlds if you get bored - which you can. Though it's a great experience, some worlds feel frustrating and uninteresting.

That critique aside, this is a heck of an experience - very meditative. It also shows a real sense of surreality and imagination.

Who's it For?* If you like walking simulators, give it a shot.* If you like trippy experimental stuff, give it a shot.

I was going check the game for about 15 minutes - as a result, I played for almost an hour. The game has no goal, only an audiovisual component and your curiosity - how many more different levels you will see. Generation of levels works just fine, the levels are varied and I have never had any problems with finding a transition to a new level.0°N 0°W is a very unusual and fun experience, which is very well polished for this type of game.

in a sentence; "this game is the most beautiful and calming exsistential nightmare i've ever had."

in colorfiction's 0N0W, you traverse through a seemingly infinite amount of semi-procedural worlds, constantly walking through doors and playing cosmic photographer. this game repeatedly took my breath away with how utterly gorgeous some of these areas look like. whilst normally i dislike comparisons of psychedelic exploration games to lsd dream emulator (because its basically as cliched as saying "this game is like <other thing> on acid" at this point), id actually have to agree with said comparison here....sort of. the worlds are a lot more passive and tend to ignore your exsistence. they also helpfully dont have horrifying things just kind of sitting there until you get close to them at which point they lunge at you or do something weird. no no, this game is just pure exploration as you endlessly trek through the various places the games give you. and i couldn't be happier with that <3

0°N 0°W is what you make of it. It's not game-y in the least bit. There's really no objective, no end, and no win state. You simply wander around dozens upon dozens of environments, walking, running, and jumping while soaking up the atmosphere and searching for a door or a way to transition to the next dreamlike world. Some environments feel familiar, like bustling cities of concrete and steel, filled with the ambient noise of traffic. Others feel organic, like a leisurely trek through a forest filled with the sounds of nature, animals, and birds. Some take you to the sea with the soothing sounds of crashing waves. Others feel alien, like an expedition to Mars. And some just feel like a cacophonous glichfest or that phenomenon where you can see your white blood cells dancing across your field of vision.

The game is definitely not for everyone, but it's an excellent way to relax, de-stress, or just escape reality for a bit. If you enjoy "walking sims" or games like Proteus and ULTRAWORLD EXODUS you may very well enjoy your time here.

I really tried to get into this game and I did find bits and pieces here and there that I liked and even thought was kind of brilliant, but, in the end, this game wasn’t my thing, because of how busy the art style is and how there is not much else to fall back on. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad game, though; it just means I can’t recommend it from a personal point of view.

There is a lot of content, but the game still felt empty and didn't inspire me to go explore (and I usually love that in a game). I unfortunately got a headache early on from all the bright colours, and felt exhausted and stressed out by how everything is constantly moving. Not being good at handling visual overload probably doesn't help either... So, with that bit sort of failing for me, I tried to fall back on other things like story or a sense of purpose, but there's none of that to be had, except a few sprouts here and there, which could have bloomed into something interesting, but never did.

It's like an art exhibition, so, just like in an art gallery, your enjoyment very much depends on you liking the art style. I did find a few worlds that didn't make me feel ill and even liked (among the many you get to visit), but those were the exceptions. I found it to be more interesting to write about than actually play.

If you look at any screenshots and like what you see, you will probably love it. If you are into free platforming, you might also love it, because there is a lot of that. If you are into trippy things, this is probably very much your thing too. Whether you like it or not, prepare to be bombarded.

0°N 0°W is very reminiscent of LSD: Dream Emulator but it has a more abstract design. If you never played LSD it was like a walking-simulator where you just wandered around with no sense of purpose. Mostly you just explore for the sake of exploring. I played many games in this weird genre and 0°N 0°W has by far the most enjoyable visuals. Although maybe the extreme effects cluster is not for everyone. It is almost like you playing inside a visual software that generates weird shapes. The game has virtually no narrative to speak of. So if you expecting some kind of goals, I don't think that you will find any.

Aside from the movie clip at the start being choppy, I don't have any major complaints. Considering how many effects the game has it seems to run really well. If you ever get stuck you can easily press M and choose a level select menu. I somewhat dislike the ability to select levels because it takes away from the exploration aspect. It would be nice if it had some sense of progress. For example, LSD had a little picture that would build over time as you explored the world. Now, I understand that the whole point is to avoid goals but I think the game would benefit from having a vague purpose. Maybe developer could hide an object in each level for player to collect and access a secret area.

Visually the game does not have too many recognizable objects. For the most part, it looks like modern art in 3D. I have not encountered any huge walking giants or unique events that would trigger during a specific time (not yet anyway). If that is the case then it needs those rare secrets to be comparable to games like LSD. I personally think that most levels in this game are very fun to explore. You will occasionally find something weird like a beam that will take you in the sky. The ambient music and well-placed sound effects also helped in creating an immersive atmosphere. In general, it is a very satisfying aesthetic experience.

Overall Thoughts 7/10

You have to love those vague exploration games to get some fun out of 0°N 0°W. I certainly would not recommend spending $9 if you looking for an actual game with a purpose. It is great if you enjoy running around aimlessly and looking at pretty colors. I have considered giving it a higher score but I have not found any worthwhile secrets yet. I want the game to surprise me and be more than what I see in front me. Overall a nice visual experience if that is the only thing you are looking for.

If you want to spend a few minutes looking at and exploring weird landscapes, this is the game for you. It's weirdly calming and relaxing, and it looks fantastic especially if you have a good display.

EDIT: The more I play it, the more I'm enjoying it. I fire it up whenever I feel like I just want to see/experience something cool, and this game delivers in spades. There's just so much attention to detail everywhere you look.